Report: Some Penn State Trustees Are Appealing The NCAA's Sanctions, And A Federal Lawsuit Is Planned

The Paterno family announced its intention to appeal the NCAA's sanctions on Friday, and the NCAA responded almost immediately to more or less say, "So?" Now here comes a newly elected member of Penn State's board of trustees, who filed an appeal of his own this afternoon, according to ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr.:

Three other trustees joined the appeal, which states a consent decree that university president Rodney Erickson signed with the NCAA agreeing to the sanctions is "null and void" because Erickson "lacked the legal authority" to enter into such an agreement without the board's approval.

Trustees and a person with first-hand knowledge of the discussions said the move is a precursor to a federal lawsuit asking a federal judge to invalidate the sanctions, because trustees expect the NCAA to reject the appeal.

We've made the argument that Penn State could have a solid case if it does decide to take the NCAA to court. But the Penn State trustees issued a unified statement on July 25 that said they agreed with Erickson's decision to go along with the consent decree. The trustee pushing the appeal, Ryan J. McCombie, has written a letter to the rest of the board asking them to go along with his plan. It's not clear if any more than four of the 32 trustees will eventually agree.

Penn State trustees file appeal [ESPN]